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I thought it looked weird/wrong -- thanks. You know I actually went to this movie at the illustrious Tally-Ho Cinema when I was 10 years old and became so frightened my father had to take me out in the lobby until I calmed down. Did that with Towering Inferno too.

lol, the things that used to scare us as kids.

The only movie to ever get me all bent out of shape was the nasty Cannibal Holocaust, which I saw when I was 8 or 9. Nothing really scares me nowadays as far as flicks are concerned, though I must admit that one video nasty that got me all queasy very recently was the repugnant Human Centipede; I couldn't even finish it.

An examination of the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages will show that Matty the Damned slithered out in 1975 not 1974.

MtD

You are the sequel, dahling.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Don't, baby. It's just an exercise in nihilism and human cruelty without any redeeming value.

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

I have avoided that film for many years, even though I love one his other movies, Teorema. I have been re-reading de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom for the last couple of weeks, so I may eventually watch the film that it inspired, even if it has excrement eating and all sorts of lovely scenes

« Last Edit: May 27, 2011, 02:13:31 PM by Rev. Moon »

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"I have tried hard--but life is difficult, and I am a very useless person. I can hardly be said to have an independent existence. I was just a screw or a cog in the great machine I called life, and when I dropped out of it I found I was of no use anywhere else."

Dearest Mattala...I shall say a little Friday night Shabbos prayer, or not, but here's hoping that everything works out well at the little Cuckoo's nest you're resigned to so you can be made better. Keep up your sense of humor, it is you're most valuable trait. I say so because I have always enjoyed your little writings, topical and witty, an honest sarcasm, some solid advice and just a treat generally speaking.

So forget you, just get better for us and get back to that Boolabangem place where you undoubtedly have just enough folks to make miserable !!!

Jodala

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"Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world". "Try to discover that you are the song that the morning brings."

Seroconverted: Early 80sTested & confirmed what I already knew: early 90s

Current regimen: Atripla. Last regimen: Epzicom, Sustiva (since its inception with NO adverse side effects: no vivid dreams and NONE of the problems people who can't tolerate this drug may experience: color me lucky )Past regimensFun stuff (in the past): HAV/HBV, crypto, shingles, AIDS, PCP

Dearest Mattala...I shall say a little Friday night Shabbos prayer, or not, but here's hoping that everything works out well at the little Cuckoo's nest you're resigned to so you can be made better. Keep up your sense of humor, it is you're most valuable trait. I say so because I have always enjoyed your little writings, topical and witty, an honest sarcasm, some solid advice and just a treat generally speaking.

So forget you, just get better for us and get back to that Boolabangem place where you undoubtedly have just enough folks to make miserable !!!

Jodala

Jodala,

I'm home bubchik.

And all is well. Sure things aren't exactly as I would like them, but what can you do?

One of the neat things about HSP is that it only affects the lower body -- not the hands. My poison missives will not be stopped they won't!

On the family issues, if it is a dominant gene, then did one of your parents have this too? Would how it affected them give you some better idea of what to expect?

Of course, if it is due to a recessive gene, then your brother is less likely to also be affected, and his children even less so.

Thinking of youA

Thanks Urban,

I've looked briefly at some of the scientific literature on HSP. It seems that 70%-80% of sufferers are affected by a dominant gene. And talking on the telephone with my father today, it seems possible that he has some mild form of this condition.

It is possible to be quite mildly affected and not really notice anything is wrong.

Given that HSP is quite rare, the likelihood of both my parents having the recessive gene (as carriers or afflicted) seems improbable. In very rare cases it's possible to have a "sporadic" form of the disease, where a mutation arises in an individual and there is no familial history.

The only reason I've been diagnosed is Frau Eva spotted various neurological abnormalities in a routine examination. I thought I might have a spot of mild PN (I've got some numbness in my big toes) and Betty encouraged me to raise it with Eva.

For quite a while I've noticed that my left leg feels "heavy" when I walk. Also when I walk for any reasonable distance my calf muscles and occasionally my thighs feel painful and stiff afterwards. I simply put this down to being out of shape, but now I know it's the spasticity at work.

I went for a long walk today and now my legs feel like they're made of stone. At least they match my heart.

When I underwent neurological examination it was discovered that I cannot stand on my toes or rock back on my heels without losing balance and falling over. Similarly I cannot stand still with my eyes closed for more than 10 seconds before I sway to the left and fall over. Also I cannot crouch, I become unbalanced and fall.

I had no idea that these things were happening. So the real heroes in this tale are Miss Betty for making me raise the issue with Eva and Eva for taking the time to do a thorough neurological exam and spotting the problems.

Matty, as I told you, you have always been, and always will be one of my strong posts on this forum. More often than not, I'll come here, read something you've posted, and laugh my ass off, which is always what I need. Wish I was around more so we could skype again sometime, but I'm sure that will happen again.

I'm glad I helped you seek help from your Frau, but I'm really not a hero. Just a concerned friend, who loves you.

"Miss B"

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I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

Having suffered a lumbar punction in 2002 (without a doubt the single worst year of my life), I can assure you that you're damned lucky to have avoided the procedure. Mine was done in one of those filthy, horrifying rooms in the ER where they keep you until you're deemed either ready for upstairs or seen fit to return home.

In reality, they calmed me down with a Valium drip and massive amounts of local anesthetic, so the actual, physical pain was only about 30% of what you might have imagined (though 30% was still a tough row to hoe). The entire exercise lasted, perhaps, 45 minutes. The hardest part was the excruciating blow-by-blow that the doctor announced throughout the procedure, as if I really needed to know precisely what he was doing at precisely that second.

The oddest thing was the funny little spigot used to withdraw the spinal fluid itself: it looked like a child's "so you wanna be a plumber" toy. My biggest regret was that they hadn't performed a viral load on the fluid removed.

The absolute worst part (aside from my ex Kenny's presence throughout the procedure, in mask, gloves and a breathing mask), was the blinding headache I suffered afterward. It made a migraine seem trifling in comparison. As I recall, it lasted for more than a day.

Not having found whatever horror they'd anticipated, they sent me home several hours later that night. The bright spot there was that Kenny was forced to sleep on the couch, so I had a blessed night of peace and (painful) tranquility (if such a thing is possible).

You ducked a bullet. Everything about the experience was painful, nerve-wracking and utterly devoid of both dignity and glamour.

Yours-B

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Blessed with brains, talent and gorgeous tits.

The revolutionary smart set reads The Spin Cycle at least once every day.

Having suffered a lumbar punction in 2002 (without a doubt the single worst year of my life), I can assure you that you're damned lucky to have avoided the procedure. Mine was done in one of those filthy, horrifying rooms in the ER where they keep you until you're deemed either ready for upstairs or seen fit to return home.

In reality, they calmed me down with a Valium drip and massive amounts of local anesthetic, so the actual, physical pain was only about 30% of what you might have imagined (though 30% was still a tough row to hoe). The entire exercise lasted, perhaps, 45 minutes. The hardest part was the excruciating blow-by-blow that the doctor announced throughout the procedure, as if I really needed to know precisely what he was doing at precisely that second.

The oddest thing was the funny little spigot used to withdraw the spinal fluid itself: it looked like a child's "so you wanna be a plumber" toy. My biggest regret was that they hadn't performed a viral load on the fluid removed.

The absolute worst part (aside from my ex Kenny's presence throughout the procedure, in mask, gloves and a breathing mask), was the blinding headache I suffered afterward. It made a migraine seem trifling in comparison. As I recall, it lasted for more than a day.

Not having found whatever horror they'd anticipated, they sent me home several hours later that night. The bright spot there was that Kenny was forced to sleep on the couch, so I had a blessed night of peace and (painful) tranquility (if such a thing is possible).

You ducked a bullet. Everything about the experience was painful, nerve-wracking and utterly devoid of both dignity and glamour.

Yours-B

Indeed my pet.

I had an LP some years back and it was ghastly. Not something I wanted to go through again if it could be avoided.

That said if neurology requires me to have one, I will. I just couldn't do it straight after the MRI.